Dry sliding wear Behaviour analysis on treatedAISI 431 stainless steel material by annealing and tempering process

Abstract

ABSTRACT Stainless steel, a high corrosion resistance, available at low cost in the market. Martensitic stainless steels were preferred in limited applications because of their high hardness and wear resistance. Thereby, these materials are suitable for manufacturing cutting tools and small dies. In order to make use of this material for commercial applications where long life is preferred, the material is subjected to heat treatment process. This results in reduction of hardness and to enhance ductility on the martensitic stainless steel material. Chosen for this research work, AISI 431 grade stainless steel were taken and subjected to vacuum annealing, tempering process. 3 samples were subjected to vacuum annealing for three different temperatures such as 723°C, 800°C, 850°C and were named as VA1, VA2, and VA3 respectively. 3 samples were treated to vacuum tempering for 3 different temperatures such as 200°C, 400°C, 600°C and were named as VTI, VT2, and VT3 respectively. All samples were undergone to wear test with the help of wear test tribometer. Later all the samples were subjected to hardness tests and the microstructures were identified with the help of Scanning Electron Microscope. An untreated sample is kept aside and results were compared with treated samples..